Solo Road Trips

[Jac@stafford.net]

Oh, my traveling companion back then, a Holga snapshot of the BigDog with me darlin.

[Greg Miller]

Oh, my traveling companion back then, a Holga snapshot of the BigDog with me darlin.

It isn't safe to get that close to a polar bear

[Jmarmck]

I have two medium sized dogs that are particularly antisocial. Take after their master. I have taken them on 1 day drive road trips. They travel very well. It is just that first 10 to 15 minutes when I am not sure if there will be a mess or not. Lately, they have been very good. I don't know about taking them. If it were just one, then maybe but two...........who do not like the leash.........might be trials and tribulations.

I like the idea of Mexican Hat as the first goal and leave the rest open. I could reach DV in days run. Perhaps take US 60 back to Amarillo or turn south and pickup I-20 to I-10 to get me back home. That might be stretching it a bit. I don't want to spend the whole time driving.

[Kirk Gittings]

One thing I'd add to Kirk's excellent list is a spare set of car keys tethered to your belt or pack in some manner that they simply can't come loose without quite a
bit of effort. A couple years ago a pal of mine was laughing at this custom of mine. We drove to the trailhead separately, and met there. He didn't want to carry
any keys into the backcountry, so put them in one of those little Hide-A-Key magnetic holders behind his truck bumper. When we got back to the trail parking area a couple weeks later, it seems that some squirrel or chipmunk had scurried around inside that same bumper. After about three hours of frustration his key box finally was discovered. But at least if there had been an emergency, we had still had one car, and were only a couple miles from a paved road. It could be a lot different situation out in the desert on some remote 4WD path. And in those cases, it might we wise to also have traction devices for below tires, though I have discovered sagebrush is fairly good for that. Fallen logs or boulders are another matter. I always keep a crowbar, axe, and small shovel in the back of the truck. .... But I've popped an oil pan in the middle of nowhere, busted tires, been snowed in several days at a time.. you name it. During winter I might even pack a pair of snowshoes for emergency use. Might sound like overkill, but a number of people here in the West have died trying to walk roads when some Forest Service idiot locked a gate for the winter, before driving the road himself to make sure it was clear first. Then there's a Coleman stove and can of soup
and stew etc, so I can actually live in style if I do get stuck somewhere, and half hot coffee every morning.

Yes I forgot, I do the extra car keys too-have made that mistake rafting as a kid. Left my car at end point, left my street clothes and keys at start point. Had to hitch hike in wet bathing suite and no shoes 30 miles back to get the keys...........one set I carry-one I stash in a bush a bit down and off the trail.

[John Olsen]

Yes I forgot, I do the extra car keys too-have made that mistake rafting as a kid. Left my car at end point, left my street clothes and keys at start point. Had to hitch hike in wet bathing suite and no shoes 30 miles back to get the keys...........one set I carry-one I stash in a bush a bit down and off the trail.

It's amazing how we learned our wisdom. Most guys just claim they always knew the right way to do things and never admit to a learning experience like yours. Thanks for sharing.

[Bill Burk]

I'd second the idea of picking up one of the satellite messenger devices, and an automobile club membership comes in handy for the times you lock the keys in the car.

After reading the story about the German family lost in Death Valley, it sounds like you can't afford to be on a dirt road in a desert alone in a car without some way of radio'ing for help. You can drive farther away from civilization than you can walk back alive from. And it's always the backwoods where there's no cell service.

[Kirk Gittings]

Yes I have had AAA for decades. I've never had to call them when I was on some remote dirt road, but they have always been great when I have called them for gas, a jump (or a new battery-there's are reasonably priced and installed well) or a tow.

[Jmarmck]

I just bought a Gen3 device from Spot. It requires a subscription service ($150/yr). They also provide a web page to plot your trip. Not that I will do that or at least only to family. It has assist SOS, assist, OK, and a custom message buttons which are setup with the web account you must have when the unit is activated.

[Merg Ross]

My first long solo road trip was at eighteen and just out of high school. The plan was to photograph and meet other photographers along the way ( some of them well known to members of this forum. There are several paragraphs in my website bio with details). In short, 26,000 miles, 46 states, 3 provinces, 8 months, August to March originating in Berkeley, CA. The year was 1959 with gas around 30 cents a gallon most places. Different times for sure, all done with a detailed Rand McNally road atlas! A few photographs from that trip still have a place in my portfolio and the memories are priceless.

If you contemplate traveling with a companion, be very careful in the selection! Better going solo than not having a patient and understanding person along --- photography can be a somewhat selfish activity and best accomplished without distraction or being rushed. At least so for me. I have been very fortunate in my choices on subsequent cross-country road trips.

A few things that I have found handy are: tow cable, tire pump, jumper cables, small shovel. Kirk may have mentioned these on his list.

Hope you have a great trip and report back!

[ross]

Go alone, do it. I travel thousands and thousands of miles throughout the western U.S. every year, always alone. It's invigorating.

"Travel is at its best a solitary enterprise: to see, to examine, to assess, you have to be alone and unencumbered." - Paul Theroux

"One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude." - Carl Sandburg